Fuel supplying means for brooder stoves



H. FIELDS Avl Ii 7 June 28, 1938.

FUEL SUPPLYING MEANS FOR BROODER STOVES Filed April 8, 1937 Patented June 28, 1938 UNITED STATES FUEL SUPPLYING MEANS FOR BROODER STOVES Hubert Fields, London, Ky.

Application April 8, 1937, Serial No; 135,784

4 Claims. (01. 110- 118) This invention relates generally to the class of animal husbandry and particularly to brooder heaters.

For certain types of brooder heater structures, 5 stoves are employed which burn solid fuel such as coal or the like, and in severe weather this fuel frequently gives out during the night thus making it necessary for the operator to attend to the same during the night or else allowing the brooder to become cold. The present invention has for its primary object to provide a self-firing or feeding apparatus designed for attachment to a solid fuel burning stove used in association with brooder structures so that at a predetermined time a new charge of fuel can be added to the brooder stove without requiring the attention of an attendant.

Another object of the invention is to provide a self-firing device for a brooder stove which, in addition to being so constructed as to carry a charge of fuel to be delivered into the stove at a predetermined time, is constructed to permit the feeding of fuel to the stove by an attendant without necessitating the removal of the device from the stove.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fuel charge, supplying means for a brooder or other type of stove, which is constructed in a novel manner to facilitate the use in association ,i therewith of a timing device such as an alarm clock or the like, so that when the clock is set to go off at a predetermined time, it will automatically trip a release mechanism which will permit the charge of fuel to descend into the stove.

35 The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention o' iis not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawing but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the apg pended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section of the apparatus embodying the present invention showing the same applied to a Fig. 2 is a v1ew in top plan of the apparatus upon a reduced scale, a part of the top being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of vReferring now more particularly to the drawing, the numeral I generally designates the top portion of a stove of the type employed in association with brooders and designed to burn solid m-gfuel such as coal, coke, corncobs, or the like. Such a stove, 'in addition to being provided with the smoke outlet 2, has its top provided with a fuel supplyingopening 3 which is normally closed by a cover or'plate (not shown).

The apparatus constituting the present invention comprises a relatively long housing 4, which is vertically disposed and which has its top end covered by the removable lid 5, while at its lower end it is tapered, as indicated at 6, to a discharge outlet I which is of the proper size and contour to fit over the fuel opening 3 in the topof the stove. .Suitable securing brackets 8 are provided for firmly attaching the lower end of the casing to the top of the stove so that fuel discharged through the casing will enter the hopperlike constricted lower end thereof and pass directly into the fire pot of the stove.

In the upper part of the casing 4 is pivotally mounted a' partitioning door 9 which is designed to support fuel until released to allow the fuel to discharge downwardlyinto the stove. This fuel supporting door has ashaft extending outwardly from the pivot pin or shaft by which it is attached to one wall of the casing, as indicated at Ill, and one end, of this extended shaft I8 is turned laterally to form the arm I I from which is suspended a weight l2. The shaft It may constitute an integral continuation of the pivot rod for the door and it. will thus be seen that since the shaft I0 is firmly attached to the door the weight l2 will normally tend to oscillate the doortoclosed position, by which is meant a position where it will extend across the casing 4 and thus close off the upper part from the lower part which leads into the stove.

One of the walls of the casing 4 which is adjacent a free edge of the partitioning door 9, has oscillatably attached thereto at the lower part thereof, as indicated at l3, one end of an upwardly extending rod Hi. This rod near its upper end has an aperture l5 formed therethrough, through which extends the guide pin it which is secured at one end to the adjacent wall of the casing and has a nut ll threaded upon its outer end to limit the outward movement of the upper end of the bar M.

The. wall of the casing adjacent to the bar M has provided at an elevation corresponding with the underside of the door 9 when the latter is in I raised or closed position, an aperture l8 formed therethrough'to receive the free end of a trip pin H! which has its other end secured, as indicated at 20, to the bar I l. Surrounding the trippin I9 and interposed between the bar M and the adjacent wall of the casing is an expansion coil spring 2! which normally exerts an outward pres-' sure against the bar l4 thus tending to withdraw the pin l9 from the opening I8. When the door 9 is in raised or horizontal position, the trip pin I9 may be extended inwardly to engage beneath the door and thus hold it in this raised position, and when the pin is so placed it is maintained against the tension of the spring 2| by the release hook 22 which is carried by the shaft 23 which is 5 oscillatably mounted upon the casing above the fixed bar I6. This hook 22 engages over the top end of the bar l4 and thus holds it from swingin outwardly and retracting the trip pin l9. The oscillatable shaft 23 to which the bar re-' taining hook 22 is attached, is provided with 'a lateral arm 24 to which may be attached one end of a cable 25. At any suitable point adjacent the fuel feeding apparatus an alarm clock mech-' anism, generally designated 26, is positioned. Any

ordinary alarm clock may be employed, and since such clocks are fairly well standardized in construction, particularly with regard to the provision upon the back thereof of a winding key for the time mechanism, as indicated at 21' and a 20. winding shaft 28 for the alarm: mechanism to which is threadably attached a key (not shown), no detailed construction of this part of the mech-. anism will be shown other than to show the location of the timing mechanism winding key,

and alarm mechanism winding shaft. In carrying out the present invention, the cable 25 is attached to a spool 29, one end of which is provided with a screw 30 of suitable size to facilitate attachment of the same with the alarm winding shaft 28 of the clock.

In placing the apparatus in operation, the par titioning door 9 is raised to horizontal position in the casing 4' and a charge of fuel is placed in the casing upon the door. The .door will be held in rraised position by the trip pin 19 with the rod l4 retained against movement by the hook 22. The alarm apparatus of the clock 26 after being wound in the usual manner by rotating the screw 30,

will be set to go off or release at a time when it 40.,is known that the brooder stove will'require recharging with fuel and the cable 25 will be wound up on the spool 29. until it is tight so that a further winding up such as will occur when the alarm goes off and the shaft 28 rotates" in the usual manner, will oscillate the shaft 23, raise the hook 22 and release the bar M. This will permit the spring 2| to force the bar outwardly and retract the trip pin l9 thus allowing the fuel charge to drop downwardly through the top of I 59 and into the brooder stove.

opening registering with the fuel inlet opening, a a 60 fuel supporting partitioning door oscillatably mounted in the casing and adapted to assume a horizontal partitioning position therein, a pin member extending through a wall of the casing to engage beneath said door, a bar member osoil-' 35, latably connected at one end of the casing and having the outer end of said pin pivotally coupled thereto, resilient means normally urging the bar outwardly from the casing to retract the pin from beneath the door, a hook member pivotally at- ;octached to the casing and adapted to engage the bar to restrain the movement of the same, and time controlled means operatively coupled with the hook means to efiect the movement of the latter to bar releasing position at a predetermined 75z period.

2. In a stove structure having a top provided with a fuel receiving opening, a casing adapted to be mounted upon said top and having a fuel discharge opening in registry .withsaid fuel receiving opening, means for intrbducingfuel into the' top of the casing, a partitioning door pivotally. mounted Within the casing and adapted to be oscillated to a fuel supporting partitioning position therein, a bar member extending vertically at one side of the casing and pivotally attached at: its lower end to the casing, a trip pin pivotally attached to the bar member and extending through the adjacent casing wall at a point to engage beneath said door to maintain the latter in partitioning position, guide means for the upper end of the bar carried bythe adjacent wall of the casing, resilient means arranged to normally urge the upper end of the bar to swing outwardly, from the casing, a shaft oscillatably supported upon the casing, a hook carried by theshaft and adapted to engage the upper end of the bar to retain the same against movement by said resilient means, and means for effecting the oscillation of said shaft to disengage? the hook from the bar.

, 3. In a stove having a top provided with a fuel receiving opening, an elongated vertically dis between the lower end of the, bar member and the casin a guide pin secured at one end of" the casing and extending outwardly through an aperture in the bar member, a pin pivotally at tached at one end to the bar in the plane of the pivot, for the partitioning door, said pin being adapted to extend through anadjacent casingwall opening to engage beneath and support the door in partitioning position, a spring member interposed between the barand the casing and normally urging the bar toxoscillate outwardly, a hook member pivotally attached to the casing and adapted toqengage and hold said bar member against movement by said spring and means for shifting said hook member to bar releasing position at a predetermined time.

4. A fuel charging device for a stove provided with a fuel inlet opening, comprising a casing designed to be secured to the stove and having a fuel discharge opening registering with the stove fuel. inlet opening, a fuel supporting partitioning door oscillatably mounted in the cas ing and adapted to assume a horizontal partitioning position therein, a pin member extending through a wall of the casing to engagebeneath said door, a bar member oscillatably held at one end at the. side of the casing and having the outer end of said pin coupled thereto, means normally urging the bar outwardly from the casing to retract'the pin from beneath the door, a mem-= ber pivotally attached to the casing and detachably engaging the bar to restrain the movement of the'same in a direction to retract the pinyan'd time controlled means operatively coupled-with said last member to effect the movement of the latter to bar-releasing position at a predetermined period.

- ,HUBERT mamas. 

